Luddington & Garthorpe Primary School

FEEDBACK & MARKING POLICY

At Luddington & Garthorpe Primary, we recognise the importance of feedback as part of the teaching & learning cycle and aim to maximise the effectiveness of its use in practice. We are mindful also of the workload implications of written marking, and of the research surrounding effective feedback.

Our policy is underpinned by the evidence of best practice from the Education Endowment Foundation and other expert organisations. The Education Endowment Foundation research shows that effective feedback should:

  • redirect or refocus either the teacher’s or the learner’s actions to achieve a goal
  • be specific, accurate and clear
  • encourage and support further effort
  • be given sparingly so that it is meaningful
  • provide specific guidance on how to improve and not just tell students when they are wrong

Notably, the Department for Education’s research into teacher workload has highlighted written marking as a key contributing factor to workload. We have also taken note of the advice provided by the NCETM (National Centre for Excellence in Teaching Mathematics) that the most important activity for teachers is the teaching itself, supported by the design and preparation of lessons.

Key Principles

Our policy on feedback has at its core a number of principles:

  • the sole focus of feedback and marking should be to further children’s learning;
  • evidence of feedback and marking is incidental to the process; we do not provide additional evidence for external verification;
  • written comments should only be used where they are accessible to students according to age and ability;
  • feedback delivered closest to the point of action is most effective, and as such feedback delivered in lessons is more effective than comments provided at a later date;
  • feedback is provided both to teachers and pupils as part of assessment processes in the classroom, and takes many forms other than written comments;
  • feedback is a part of the school’s wider assessment processes which aim to provide an appropriate level of challenge to pupils in lessons, allowing them to make good progress.
  • All pupils’ work should be reviewed by teachers at the earliest appropriate opportunity so that it might impact on future learning. When work is reviewed, it should be acknowledged in books.

Within these principles, our aim is to make use of the good practice approaches outlined by the EEF toolkit to ensure that children are provided with timely and purposeful feedback that furthers their learning, and that teachers are able to gather feedback and assessments that enable them to adjust their teaching both within and across a sequence of lessons

Feedback and marking in practice

It is vital that teachers evaluate the work that children undertake in lessons and use information obtained from this to allow them to adjust their teaching. Feedback occurs at one of three common stages in the learning process:

  1. Immediate feedback – at the point of teaching
  2. Summary feedback – at the end of a lesson/task
  3. Review feedback – away from the point of teaching (including written comments)

The stages are deliberately numbered in order of priority, noting that feedback closest to the point of teaching and learning is likely to be most effective in driving further improvement and learning, especially for younger pupils. As a school, we place considerable emphasis on the provision of immediate feedback. Where feedback is based on review of work completed, the focus will often be on providing feedback for the teacher to further adapt teaching.

Type / What it looks like / Evidence (for observers)
Immediate /
  • Includes teacher gathering feedback from teaching, including mini-whiteboards, book work, etc.
  • Takes place in lessons with individuals or small groups
  • Often given verbally to pupils for immediate action
  • May involve use of a teaching assistant to provide support or further challenge
  • May re-direct the focus of teaching or the task
  • May include highlighting/annotations according to the marking code.
/ Lesson observations/learning walks
Some evidence of annotations or use of marking code/highlighting
Summary /
  • Takes place at the end of a lesson or activity
  • Often involves whole groups or classes
  • Provides an opportunity for evaluation of learning in the lesson
  • May take form of self- or peer- assessment against an agreed set of criteria
  • In some cases, may guide a teacher’s further use of review feedback, focusing on areas of need
/ Lesson observations/learning walks
Timetabled pre- and post- teaching based on assessment
Some evidence of self- and peer- assessment
May be reflected in selected focus review feedback (marking)
Review /
  • Takes place away from the point of teaching
  • May involve written comments/annotations for pupils to read / respond to
  • Provides teachers with opportunities for assessment of understanding
  • Leads to adaptation of future lessons through planning, grouping or adaptation of tasks
  • May lead to targets being set for pupils’ future attention, or immediate action
/ Acknowledgement of work completed
Written comments and appropriate responses/action
Adaptations to teaching sequences tasks when compared to planning
Use of annotations to indicate future groupings

Marking Approaches

All work will be acknowledged in some form by class teachers. This may be through simple symbols such as ticks or highlighting of learning objectives.

In Foundation Stage & Key Stage 1, review marking will only lead to written comments for those pupils who are able to read and respond independently. In some cases, the marking code may be used where this is understood by pupils (see end of policy for marking code & symbols). Where pupils are unable to read/understand such comments, these are shared verbally with children at the next appropriate opportunity.

In Key Stage 2, written marking and comments should be used where meaningful guidance can be offered which it has not been possible to provide during the classroom session. In the case of groups of pupils having a common need, it may be appropriate for teachers to adjust planning or grouping rather than providing a written comment. Where a child has achieved the intended outcome and is well-prepared for the next stage in learning, this need not be annotated.

In most cases, written comments will be focussed on extended pieces of written work, or extended tasks. These will allow children’s achievements to be recognised and provide further guidance for future learning.

Target-setting

A significant aim of feedback should be to ensure that children are able to identify how they can improve their work or further their learning. In some cases, targets are clearly set out through use of the marking code and accompanying comments.

In mathematics, targets for all pupils are based on the key number skills needed for each stage of learning that underpin broader mathematics learning, including number bonds, multiplication facts, and standard written methods.

In English, formal targets are drawn from the school’s Key Objective assessment framework in KS1-2, and from the ‘Development Matters’ documentation for EYFS. For pupils in KS2, and those in younger year groups who are able to access them, targets are recorded on the assessment and target-setting sheets placed in the back of the children’s books.

There is no expectation that targets are updated on a fixed term, but these should be reviewed regularly by both pupils and teachers and updated when they are achieved. Where targets remain for a long period, these should be reviewed to take account of a child’s needs and progress.

Marking Code

The marking code is displayed in every classroom and has been shared with all children. If supply teachers visit the school, reference is made to the marking code and there is an expectation that they use it to mark.